Jackson nets decider in thrilling Blues win

Chelsea substitutes Raheem Sterling and Reece James made telling contributions, as the Blues beat Nottingham Forest 4-3 in a thrilling game at the City Ground on Saturday. 

Mauricio Pochettino's men took the lead early in the contest through Mykhailo Mudryk, but were pegged back before the break by a header from Willy Boly. 

A ding-dong battle after the interval saw the sides trade punches - the woodwork rattled three times before Callum Hudson-Odoi curled home against his former side to give the hosts a 2-1 lead. 

Chelsea were down, but not out - and Sterling restored parity with a fine strike before fellow substitute James swung in an inch-perfect cross for Nicolas Jackson to score the matchwinner. 

The Action: Forest started the afternoon knowing they were effectively safe given their goal difference advantage over Luton Town, but a point would have made them mathematically so and officially relegated the Hatters. 

The hosts arguably started the brighter of the two sides, but it was Chelsea who took the lead on seven minutes with their first shot of the game. 

Young England playmaker Cole Playmaker unsurprisingly played a decisive role in the Blues' opener, his sliderule pass releasing Mykhailo Mudryk for a neat low finish. 

In the process, Palmer became only the third Chelsea player in history to score 20 goals and lay on 10 assists in a Premier League season - after Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard, who both managed the feat in the 2009/10 campaign. 

The hosts bounced back quickly, however, and levelled the score on 14 minutes through defender Willy Boly. The former Porto and Wolves centre-back escaped the attentions of his marker to head home Morgan Gibbs-White's free-kick. 

Chelsea remained in the ascendency in terms of possession for the remainder of the half; Forest retained a threat on the break - but neither side was able to add to their tally before the interval.

Half-time: Forest 1-1 Chelsea

The hosts started the second period well and Ola Aina had already blasted one shot over when captain Ryan Yates went close in the 51st minute with a low drive from the edge of the box. 

Palmer was a constant danger for Chelsea, however, and he skewed wide just minutes later after being well found by Moises Caicedo. 

Momentum then swung in Forest's favour and Nuno Espirito Santo's side went agonisingly close to taking the lead just before the hour mark when Callum Hudson-Odoi's cross was headed against the post by Gibbs-White - Chris Wood somehow ballooning the rebound over the bar. 

It was anybody's game and Chelsea then hit the woodwork themselves - Palmer's lovely drifting free-kick flicked onto the post by Thiago Silva in one of his final appearances for the Londoners. 

A recurring theme was emerging...as Forest went up the other end and hit the woodwork again! Former Chelsea winger Hudson-Odoi curled a shot over Djordje Petrovic, but the ball bounced to safety off the crossbar. 

As it turned out, that effort from Hudson-Odoi was just to train his sights - the winger making the score 3-2 with a low curling finish on 74 minutes. 

Inkeeping with the tit-for-tat nature of the game, Chelsea hit back five minutes later with a goal that was almost identical to Hudson-Odoi's - Raheem Sterling cutting onto his right foot and curling a fine finish into the bottom corner. 

Chelsea's subs were making their mark and on 81 minutes they took the lead when a fantastic run and cross from the recently-introduced Reece James was headed in at the far post by Blues striker Jackson. 

The win moved Pochettino's Chelsea level on points with sixth-placed Newcastle, and three points ahead of eighth-placed Manchester United - who host Arsenal tomorrow.